Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-16
DTABOLICAL INGENUITY.
The Tortures of the Spanish Inquisi-
ton,
Hartford Times.

The Tertures of the Spanish Inquisi-
ton.
Hartford Times.
Oh, the awful, diabolical ingenuity of
those tortures! The thumbscrews, the
Spanish boot, the bed of ease, which is q
long, narrow plank, about ten feet long
studded thickly with wooden spikes, not
sharp enough to really cut the flesh, but
only to bruise, pierce and mangle it.
Above this is big roller also studded
with spikes, and movable, so that
when the victim was placed naked
upon the bed and drawn up and down it
! by ropes attached to his hands and feet,
the roller at the same time moved over
his body. Then there was masks that
crushed in his face; ladies from which
molten lead was poured into the ears
and the palms of the hands; the easy
chair, like the bed, only the victim sat
and was rolled; the Spanish donkey,
something like saw-horse, with very
narrow plank upward, upon which the
naked victim was seated, his Cor
herr arms bound backward, and
with very heavy iron weights attached
to the feet. There was the cradle, It's
bed and pillow studded with spikes, upon
which the victim, always nude, was laid,
and the cradle rocked violently. Pictures
of all these tortures used to hang
in the Rath Haus, as a warning
to transgressors; truly their ways
here were hard. There were knives
for delicately removing the ears;
hatChets for cutting off the hands; the
wheel, upon which the poor Wretch's
bones were broken one by one, till at
last the coup de grace was given by
MS skull being crushed. Now we were
shown a chain made by a count,
who loved and was beloved by
sister of Frederick the Great, and was
sentenced to lifelong Imprisonment. The
chain was carved from a single stick of
wood; 1t was very long, each link ending
in sort of spoon. 1t suggested to n.
that he intended to show to the world that
though in chains, he was still spoons upon
his lady love. Here was also an arrange
ment by which the prisoner was held Up
and burned under the arms, by means of
Wisps of straw till he confessed. That
was done as late as 1858 (?), and yet peo-
pie talked of the Blue Laws of Connect
cut! Why, they were rOse-colored in
comparison with those of this civilized
land in the present century.
In the Old Tower, which is said to have
been built by the Romans, Gold towers at
least partly built by the Romans are as
common here as our houses in which
Washington has slept are at home), the
''IrOn Virgin" has place. You are
shown the spot where the prisoner
sentenced to her embrace had to lie
without food and water two days and
nights before his death that he might
mediate upon his sins. Near him was
the "poor sinners bell," which the guide
struck for US to hear; it has a solemn,
hollow sound; this was tolled every few
minutes to prevent any sleep coming TO
ease the poor wretch. This is diff
ferent from our treatment of murder
ers. Ours have rather q good time of it,
all the delicacieS of the season to eat and
to drink, and crowds of nice young Sun
day school teachers, and pretty, senti-
mental, admiring young women who flock
to them with flowers, pseudo-religion
and the charms of their society.
Here in Nuremberg if he even
tried to speak and tell his woes he was
'fjabbed" with spike. On the third day,
as by that time ne was supposed to be
properly penitent and to thoroughly
realize his position, he was taken
from the "Iron Virgin" This is
s. huge figure of a woman. It was
made in 1850, and wears the custom
of that period. She wears a mantle over
big iron hoops; her iron hood almost
covers her smiling, welcome face. The
body was opened to show US; it is very
heavy, lined with wood, in which are put
long, sharp pointed knives, two very
long ones to enter the eyes and
pierce the brain, and hundreds
for the naked body of the poor victim,
who has been waiting for her embrace, in
the same room with her, for TWO days and
nights; how endless they must have
seemed! He is taken to her arms, and
the heavy doors with their cruel, awful
knives, are closed upon him.
No words can describe it. After few
hours the door was opened and the body
fell through trap door into quick
lime grave below. This instrument was
only used to punish double
murders. The last witch, or rather
wizard, publicly burned, was a man
in 1894. The last death on the wheel
: was in 1900. The last man burned under
the arms to extcrt confession was
as (abOve said in 1858. The
last who endured the tortures
of the rack and thumbscrew, the
Spanish donkey and the cradle, were a man
and his wife, servants at the castle, who
were accused of theft. They were thus
tortured, the woman dying in two days;
the man lived hopeless, suffering cripple
for more than two years.
Tho Amoricus (Co y Dooo-dar 4aIIS Of 4.